Myself and a few mates were looking for a place to head to "on the cheap" having spent our life savings in La Plagne on nasty beer..... flicked through the pages of whitelines and came across a "affordable destinations" write up where we found Jasna and the boys from Propaganda promising the best value for money trip ever.

Anyway, in short, the whitelines write up was spot on - the resort is smaller then your average french place but the free ride zones more then make up for that. Lifts are a little random, few drags, 1 old bubble lift straight from the 60's, few old chairlifts and a brand spanking new 6 man with comfy seats and the wind cover. parks pretty good, few rails, couple of kickers and a wall ride, all sponsored by burton

Away from the slopes is a little quiet, resort is mostly a selection of hotels so we spent most of our evenings chilling at the chalet or heading into the bars in town (about 2 minutes from chalet, 10 from resort) which has a full range of late clubs and chill out bars.

The chalet was spot on, much more then we expected. very spacious rooms, clean, boardroom with all the tools and all very laid back.

The whole deal was as whitelines said, possibly the most cost effective trip youll ever make. Our group of 6 lads, all out every night spent less then 80 quid each all week. We flew into Bratislava to save even more money as flights around 50 quid return, and the Propaganda deal included all transports around town and to resort, breakfasts and all food at a local restaurant and lift pass....... for 245 in france i got nothing for that much.

I have just got back from Slovakia and thought I would let you know my thoughts. First of all we stayed with propaganda snowboards a new British ran company that has opened this season. Check them out at: http://www.propagandasnowboards.com/http://www.tourslovakia.co.uk/What can I say they do an amazing deal for £250 quid where you get you the following thrown in: lift pass, meals accommodation, transfers and transport to and from the resort and local pubs every night. On top of that the chalet is really nice and modern with all mod cons including x box, internet etc, plus it is ran by some really cool people and has the excellent sonny the dog to keep you amused!

As for the resort itself we went mid March and did not have any snow to talk of which was very surprising seen as it was the best snow for fifty years. Nevermind though there was still a really good base and plenty of covering on all the pistes. As for the runs themselves the resort is broken up into blues, red and black runs how this compares to other European resorts I don't know but I was doing Blacks for the first time ever when I only got to red level in France!! Therefore I would say the resorts offers something for everything including gradual cruising blues. There is also plenty of off piste and tree runs to be had for those who like to get off the beaten track. If you want value for money this place is excellent you will get beers for roughly 50 pence and meals for a couple of quid this includes on the mountain as well.

One thing I would totally recommend is spending a night on top of the mountain this involves a half hour trek from the top lift to a little hut which has a quality bar and bunk beds for you to stay in. The room for this is only about three quid a night so top value for money and has a wicked little bar to pass the hours away once the lifts have shut.

Other things to do include Go Karting, Bowling and trying the 40 oz steak at Route 66! You will struggle to spend money in this place which is brilliant compared to the overblown prices of France. As for speaking the language this can be confusing as they hardly speak any English but thanks to the propaganda lot I can say Beer, Cheers and Thank you in Slovakian I think that's enough.

I would definitely recommend a trip out there for any one wanting a change from the super resorts of France etc.

Strengths

Value for MoneyPropaganda LodgeBeer / Food

Hot Spots

Route 66Go Karting BowlingWestern City (apparently) it was closed when we went

We were supposed to fly into Bratislava with ryanair where we would’ve taken a 3-hour train across Slovakia into Liptovsky Mikulas (where we were to be picked up by the people at Propaganda Snowboards). However because there was 2 foot of snow the night before we landed we were diverted Brno in the Czech Republic. Ryanair kindly provided us with coaches and we were driven down to Bratislava to catch our train. Because of the snow all the trains were delayed and so we arrived 9 hours late.

Food and drink in Slovakia are stupidly cheap. Beers are about 40-50p so expect to drink lots. Don’t be afraid of what type of food to expect, it usually involves some kind of pork or chicken steak with potatoes and vegetables (and garlic). Makes a nice change from pizza and raclettes.

Onto the mountain itself. First of all it’s not the biggest of ski able area and you’ll be pretty much familiar with all the runs by the end of the week. Most of the chairlifts and bubbles are fairly old and queuing can be a bit of a scramble (best advice – take your board off and go through the barriers before putting it back on as it’ll save your board a bit of punishment and you’ll be able to squeeze past people easier). Though the queues can appear long we rarely had to queue for more than a few minutes. One thing you'll be guaranteed is snow - loads of snow - really lots and lots of snow.

The pistes are fairly well maintained never too mogully. They’re not so keen on piste markers so a little bit of care should be taken especially in low vis conditions. One of the best bits of the resort though are the three ‘freeride’ areas at the tops of the mountain. No pistes just fantastic untracked powder. As you go down the mountain towards the tree line cruising between the trees in deep powder is like something out of the snowboarding movies.

fly to bratislava (£65 return from manchester via berlin easy jet)- spend a night there, (hotel kiev)eat and drink some of the finest food and beer at unbelievably cheap prices in some of the nicest bars / restaraunts you'll ever come accross.Get the train to liptosky mikulas the next morning (early!). a 200km trip was about £12, get the bus to jasna £1.50. we stayed at the hotel druzba - a very cosy 3 star hotel situated about 200m up the lower slope. - you literally step out of the front door put on your board and ride down to the first lift. the food was the best ive ever eaten - again unbeievably cheap.
would recommend booking your hotel in advance, through pilgrim,there are about 6 or so very close to the slopes, we booked 2 weeks prior to visit and went for 8 nights at the druzba which cost about £160.(last week jan first week feb) it also has a pool sauna jacuzzi and steam room, masage facilities - all at a very high standard. breakfast was inclusive.
the main bulk of runs are generally red with just a few blacks and blues. there are about 4 chair lifts + 1 gondola and 7 buttons. the slopes are well maintained and groomed every night and lower slopes have cannons - there is also night skiing on the lower slopes. ques for the lifts did get busy about 11 am - especially at the 6 man chair area which tends to be the most populated area. there is a snow park further accross where the gondola is with cafes and is a much nicer place to hang out . the park consists of about 7 rails of all shapes and sizes then a bank to wall at the end - the rails are generally maintained by the locals and kept in very good condition, there are also a couple of kickers although we did think that there should have been more effort spent on building a proper kicker with run in / landing - the emphasis here was definately more on the rails, but - if you're feeling a bit devil may care - try the kicker over the c rail. It's quite daunting you feel like your'e heading straight for a brick wall at high speed and youre like - oh sh*t do i go for it or look a c*nt and p*ssy out - it's actually quite easy provided you have enough speed. the top rail is especially nice - big solid - again you have to commit 100% to come out on top - but those of you who know a thing or two about rails know all this anyway. we would get up, go for brekky at 8 and be on the slopes for 9 - this is when the slopes were best - all groomed and quiet - fly down a few blacks and reds then up to the top. this is where the real action is - the freeriding is absolutely brilliant over to the left is a valley with chutes a plenty. it is a big obsevatry point - everyone comes to whach. we went down about 4 different ways and they all bring you out at the same point - here it's pure powder and away from the crowds - in a secluded valley eventually coming round and down into the tree lines and then joining the logest blue run at the far side - brilliant!. there is also freeriding over to the right in more valleys. one of which was mental. the next one over from the spravodlia moguls - brings you close to the snowpark - be warned. theres even more chutes further up from the snowpark with a redundant button. going back to the summit area. the lift which goes to the summit was broken and has been for some time. its about 1/4 mile walk to the summit from the top lift. apparently they are building a new lift for next season (2005/6) to interlink both sides so it all becomes 1. we did not get to ride the other side - i wish we had. the freeriding is said to be even better. I can iagine you wont get the crowds on the other side either. lift pass was £60 for 6 days and £15 for a day.Another thing i liked about this place is there didnt seem to be a divide between skiers and boarders - everyone getting along fine having fun together and generally at quite a high standard.
nightlife ended up at the hotel junior. free entry, cheap drink every night you'd have a stripper come on and do her bit. the place was hardly cutting edge - euro pop but they usaually are in most european resorts. On our way back we vspent another night in bratislava and went clubbing - a place called barok which is on a boat - very lively - lots of beatiful girls. this was a friday night. we also saw quite a few english out and about who are coming over for weekend breaks - taking advantage of the high quality and cheapness of it all - some of whom were a bit worse for ware and it did spring to mind that the brits are coming. All in all i cant reccomend this country high enough. we will be going back next season, im ecven contemplating a summer holliday in one of the beach resorts in eastern europe. for those of you who go to andorra a lot you could do a whole lot more for your money by going to jasna